Ireland

In Carlene O’Connor’s Murder in an Irish Pub, the cozy village of Kilbane seems like the perfect place for a poker tournament, until the star player is found hanging in the local pub’s broom closet. Siobhan O’Sullivan is a Garda in the small village of Kilbane. She’s still pretty new to… Read more

I didn’t even know who Rory Gallagher was until I got a postcard from Ken Bruen. To my shame, my knowledge of Irish music is limited. I loved the Pogues but didn’t realize Van Morrison and Thin Lizzy came from the Emerald Isle until I should’ve known better. I lived… Read more

Murphy's Law by Rhys Bowen is the first entry in the popular Molly Murphy Mysteries series. It won the 2001 Agatha Award for “Best Novel.” Winner of the 2001 Agatha Award for “Best Novel,” Rhys Bowen's initial entry into the Molly Murphy Mysteries series, Murphy's Law, begins with Molly proving… Read more

The Eloquence of the Dead by Conor Brady is the second novel featuring Sergeant Joe Swallow in this fast-paced, Irish crime thriller (Available March 15, 2016). “Bodies can tell you a lot. There can be an eloquence about the dead. But you have to be able to interpret what they… Read more

In 2004, I was given an opportunity to pitch a TV show to the BBC. My first novel, Dead I Well May Be, had just come out, and although the book hadn’t sold well, it had been well reviewed, and this had attracted the attention of the Beeb. Partly autobiographical,… Read more

Yesterday, in History as Mystery Part I, I explored why I love historical mysteries so much and offered 10 of my absolute favorites as sort of a crash course reading list to get you started. Now that you’re clearly convinced of how great these stories can be, it’s your turn… Read more

The Devil's Seal by Peter Tremayne is the 25th Mystery of Ancient Ireland featuring Sister Fidelma (available July 28, 2015). Ireland, A.D. 671. An Anglo-Saxon delegation arrives in Cashel to debate the new religious rules that have been handed down from Rome. The Abbot of Imleach leads the Irish delegation,… Read more

The Convictions of John Delahunt by Andrew Hughes is a historical thriller set in 1840s Dublin about a man who slowly begins to betray everything and everyone close to him (available June 15, 2015). What a fascinating book. It starts out fairly slowly, in your standard “I’m a criminal looking… Read more

A June of Ordinary Murders is the debut Victorian Era historical mystery by Conor Brady about a Dublin detective who begins piecing together a connection from string of suspicious deaths (available April 21, 2015). In the 1880s the Dublin Metropolitan Police classified crime in two distinct categories. Political crimes were… Read more

Atonement of Blood by Peter Tremaine is a historical mystery set in 670 AD Ireland, the 24th novel featuring Fidelma and her companion, this time in enemy lands, trying to unravel their king's attempted assassination (available July 22, 2014). Winter, 670 AD. King Colgú has invited the leading nobles and… Read more